Ziggy's Refuge Farm Sanctuary

"Where Compassion Comes First!"

A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY...

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."

-Demosthenes

Well, not that far away- the Virgin Islands, actually, is where our story begins.

​

In November of 2010, a future star

found his home with Kristin Hartness. This 25 pound little pig would grow to not only hold the name Ziggy the Traveling Piggy and be loved by thousands, but would eventually be 225 more pounds than anticipated!

This marketing technique leaves thousands of pigs homeless every year due to the fact that the people who purchase mini pigs are not prepared to care of a 200+ pound animal. Ziggy would be one of the few lucky "mini" pigs that got placed with someone dedicated enough to root up their entire lives just to keep him.

​

And root up her life is exactly what Kristin did. She used all of her life's savings to fly Ziggy from the Virgin Islands to their new home- something a little less lavish but much more exciting- a large RV ready to explore the country!

​

During their explorations, Kristin learned another key component that would later be the driving force behind the formation of Ziggy's Refuge. Ziggy had a way with words, or grunts, so to speak. People of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds would meet this happy pig, and suddenly become disgusted by the idea of eating bacon...

​

Fast forward a bit, and you have a mighty team dedicated to saving farm animals from the fate of being pieces of meat on a fork.

​

Kristin, Ziggy, Jay Yontz and other dedicated souls began working their rumps off to spread the word about compassionate living, a kind of life that doesn't have to kill other sentient creatures like Ziggy to survive and thrive. This was the introduction of a miraculous moral and ethical stance; veganism. People everywhere were becoming vegan after meeting Ziggy.